Earth's Other Secret
by myahoo
Summary: Earth holds many secrets. The Animorphs, the Yeerks, the Chee. What happens if the Animorphs stumble across one of the other secrets? A secret that could affect them.
1. Chapter 1: Aurora

**A/N: This is my first Animorphs fanfic. I may get some information wrong, since I don't own any of the books and it's been a while since I read them. I did not read the entire series either. If you notice any mistakes, please tell me. I am not sure when my story will take place.**

Hi. My name's Aurora. I don't have a last name. I would if I wanted one, but I don't. I have shoulder-length brown hair and my height is average. I have yellow-orange eyes. Now, you must be wondering, how can she have yellow-orange eyes? Humans don't have that color eyes. You'd be correct. I am not human. Sure, I live on Earth and I look and act human, but people have been fooled before. I am from an alien race called the Feylin. We look human, but there are a few obvious differences. I mean, what human has catlike pupils, claws, medium-sized dragonish wings, and a reptilian tail that is half their height? There's no humans that I know of that has these traits. By the way, did I mention we can change forms, we have special abilities, and we can live an average of 1,000 years?

Also, there is an alien invasion in progress conducted by the Yeerks. If you haven't heard of it, then too bad. It's common knowledge with my people. Perhaps the Andalite bandits will be kind enough to tell you the entire story, so I suggest you try to find them instead.

So my day starts with getting ready for school. Yes, I go to school. My Feylin friends and I go to school to pass time, for fun, and to make friends with the humans. We also get to talk to our friend, Erek King. He's one of a race of androids called the Chee, so he'll live forever. We don't get to see him often, since he lives in town and we live in the forest. Anyway, back to me. I climb down the ladder and I hear someone call me.

"Hey Aurora."

"Hey Aurora."

"Hey Cyrus. Hey Selena." These two are my childhood friends.

Selena is the kind one in our group. She has purple eyes, long silver hair, and she's in the tall average. Her ability is to temporarily stop time, like the Ellimist and Crayak. Her fraternal twin, Cyrus, is the fighter of our group. He has yellow eyes, medium length blond hair, and he's in the tall average. His ability is invisibility. I forgot to mention that my ability is controlling fire. All three of us are the same age and we go to the same school. Our courses are the same also.

So as we're walking to the bus stop, we're making jokes and having fun.

I joke, "So, did you guys have any trouble with last night's homework?"

"Of course not. Easy as gliding," Selena replies. Another thing to mention: Feylin love to fly and have fun.

Cyrus says, "My science homework killed me with its boringness."

"Aww! Poor Cy. Did you revive yourself by falling off the tree house?" I tease. Selena and I start cracking up.

"Shut up," Cyrus mutters. We stifle our laughter as we near the bus stop. I notice that Cassie, an insightful human girl, is already waiting there, thinking deeply.

We say, "Hey Cassie." I notice that Cassie jumps and tenses when she hears us.

"Oh. Hey Aurora, Cyrus, Selena," says Cassie tiredly.

"Hey, you okay, Cassie? You look very worried," Selena worriedly asks.

"Hm? Oh. No, I'm fine. I'll be okay. Just thinking about stuff." She smiles, but we can tell that it's forced. Right then, the bus arrives and we get on. Cassie goes to sit with her tired-looking best friend, Rachel, and we sit together in a different seat.

I state, "You know what? I think she's lying. What about you guys?"

Cyrus just shrugs and says, "I dunno. You know I suck at things like that."

Selena, on the other hand, thinks for a bit and answers with, "I think she's actually really troubled. I dunno what's bugging her, but I hope it's resolved soon."

All three of us are silent for the rest of the ride. When the bus stops, we all get off and just hang around the front of the school. The first bell rings.

"Well, I gotta go. See ya guys later," I say as I wave and walk off.

As soon as the lunch bell rings, I'm the first one out the door. I meet up with Cyrus and Selena as we head towards the cafeteria.

"I have this feeling that we're gonna find our fourth member today," muses Selena. Feylin usually form groups of four or five that are instinctively linked to each other. Sel is especially sensitive to her gut feelings.

"Really?" I look at Sel questioningly.

Cy shrugs, uncaring.

Sel replies, "Yeah. I'm almost absolutely sure that today is the day."

Cy declares, "Then we better start looking. Right after lunch."

"You and your stomach," I say.

But as soon as we enter the cafeteria, my senses perk up and my gaze is drawn to a boy sitting by himself. He has messy, short black hair and he's kinda short. Almost as if he feels my eyes, he turns and I find myself linking to his blue-black eyes.

"Do you guys feel what I feel?" I whisper.

Sel happily says, "He's the one."

Cy is awed. "Wow. I've never felt that before. It's almost like I'm being pulled towards him. It's like he belongs with us or something."

I start to turn to them, but a movement catches my eye. As I focus on the person, my body tenses and I hope that it isn't who I think it is.

"No. Not him. Not now," I say desperately.

Sel asks, "Who?" right when Cy asks, "What?"

I tell them, "He's here. And he's heading for our Fourth!"

Both of them curse. Cy replies, "Then we better get there first."

With that, we rush through the crowd, trying to get to the kid before our enemy does.


	2. Chapter 2: Lowell

**A/N: Again, this is my first Animorphs fanfic, so please alert me to any problems I may have. I have not read the entire series and I have not read them recently. If the Animorphs are OOC, I apologize.**

**I would like to thank Squito, SnowStorm752, and Mrowrkat98 for being my first reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Animorphs. All Animorphs related information belongs to K.A. Applegate. **

I walk down the corridors of this new school, looking for my class. My first class is math. When I find it, I pause for a few seconds. I really hate having to explain who I am and all that to the teachers. I sigh. Oh well, time to get this over with. I enter the classroom and tell the teacher that I'm new.

"Oh," he says, "So, you're the new student. What's your name?"

"My name's Lowell Jarmont," I reply.

I should explain a bit before continuing. My name is Lowell. I don't have a last name, so I just adopt the last name of my latest foster family. I have no memories of my real family and my only clues are flashes of memory. In every family I have been in, I only stay a few weeks before I get restless and leave. Apparently my goal has been this city, as I have this feeling of urgency ever since I got here. I noticed that I am faster, stronger, my senses are better than most people's, and I am claustrophobic. It's unusual to say the least. Oh, I'm starting school about three days after I moved here and it just happens to be a Friday.

Anyway, I take a seat next to a short, Hispanic boy and the bell rings. The teacher starts the lesson and I find myself drifting off. Right in the middle of the teacher's lecture, he leans over and quietly says, "You are luckily sitting next to the wonderfully funny and witty Marco, and I would like to offer my expertise of this school and show you around."

Startled, I reply, "I would like it if you would show me to my classes, but you don't have to."

"In that case, let my see your schedule." I hand Marco my schedule and he looks it over. Then, he gives a dramatic sigh.

"I have a feeling you have no idea where any of these classes are, so I feel it's my duty to help the new kid find his classes."

"Wow! Thanks. I was afraid I'd have to wander around school until someone came to help me," I state.

Then, Marco grins and sings, "Have no fear, Marco's-"

"Marco! Be quiet and pay attention," snaps the teacher.

Marco rolls his eyes and faces the front. The teacher then turns to me and says, "Lowell, since you seem to find my lecture extremely uninteresting, why don't you come to the board and solve the problem."

Nervously, I stand up and walk to the board. Once I see the problem though, I feel like laughing. It was so simple that I didn't need to think about it. I easily solve the problem and walk back to my seat. I notice Marco staring at me as I pass by.

"You just solved that problem. That's, like, one of the hardest problems he could think of and you solved it easily, too. You gotta help me with my homework," begs Marco, "I can never understand what he's saying."

"Oh, alright. How about after-school today?" I ask.

"Um….," Marco hesitates, "Not today. How 'bout on the weekend?"

"Okay," I say wonderingly. When he thought about the time, he grimaced for some unknown reason. At least, unknown to me. Thankfully, the rest of my periods passed quickly and Marco takes me to the cafeteria for lunch. As soon as we enter, he calls to another boy.

"Jake!" The other boy turns around and waves to Marco. Marco waves back. Then, he turns to me and explains a little.

"Look, I gotta go. I'll meet you at this door after lunch." He barely finished speaking before rushing away to the other kid. I watch them for a bit, and then look around. It is a pretty large cafeteria with two entrances. Nothing special. I take a seat in an empty table that is visible to both doors. Unconsciously, I watch the people entering and exiting from both doors. After waiting for about five minutes, I get the feeling that I'm being watched. I turn toward one of the doors and see three people, two girls and a guy. The one who seemed like the leader was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair and her height was average. Her eyes were an interesting yellow-orange, like the dawn. The other girl was taller than the leader like one and this girl had long silver hair. Her eyes were purple. The last member of this trio, a guy, was the same height as the silver-haired girl, but he had blond hair. It was not long and not short. His eyes were yellow, like the sun. The leader like girl is watching me and our eyes met. Right then, I feel a weird tugging sensation, like I should be with them or something. They are complete stranger, and yet, I feel like they are family. She then starts to turn towards her companions, but she freezes. Her eyes widen and I could almost feel her fear. She hurriedly speaks to the other two and they start making their way to me. I look at the other entrance and see another boy pushing his way towards me. He is tall with his spiky, short brown hair. The part that really struck me were his eyes; Red, almost black, eyes that were extremely cold and hard. It sent chills down my spine.

"Hey, what's your name?" I jump and whirl around to see the threesome standing near my table.

Stuttering, I say, "L-Lowell Jarmont."

The guy cocks his head and replies, "Well, Lowell, maybe you should come with us." He exchanges a look with the girls. "We have things we need to talk to you about."

As I wonder what he means, the other boy comes up. I really don't like the feeling I am getting from this guy.

"Well, hello Cyrus, sweet Selena, Aurora. This must be Lowell," he says coldly. Somehow, I am able to match up the names with the faces. Aurora must be the leader with the yellow-orange eyes, Selena is the one with the silver hair and purple eyes, and Cyrus must be the one with yellow eyes and blond hair.

"Hello Adrian," Aurora spits through gritted teeth. Selena is concentrating on something, while restraining Cyrus. His hands are tightly clenched into fists. The air is thick with tension when I realize that there is no more movement or noise. Only we are moving. Aurora's voice broke through the silence. 

"Perhaps we shall settle this elsewhere."

"Ah! Of course. Wouldn't want to go hurting innocents, now would we?" Adrian sneers. I drew the obvious conclusion: The three hate Adrian and Adrian hates them back. They start walking and I stand frozen until I hear, or don't hear. ((Lowell, come with us. You need to see this.))

I follow them. If you are wondering, I wasn't surprised or shocked by the sudden voice or thought in my head; it seems pretty normal to me, for some unknown reason. When we reach the roof, all four of them stop and wait. Again, the voice comes back.

((Kitao Seriolfang, take us to our battleground.)) I am bewildered. Who or what is this Kitao Seriolfang? Where is the battleground? There's a battleground? As I am thinking of these questions, my mind suddenly registers that we have moved. Again, I am not surprised or shocked, but I am confused. This place we are at is a flat plain between a forest and a lake and we are standing near the middle of the plain. I also realize that I have memories that are waiting to be viewed. I should explain that a bit.

Whenever I feel a slight throbbing in my mind, it means that something has "unlocked" some of my memories. As I said earlier, my memories are my only link to my past, but I can't remember them. My memories don't make a lot of sense, since they usually show weird creatures on another planet. As far as I remember, I have never left Earth. Then again, I only remember the last five years, so that wouldn't be a valid argument. I can control when I view the "unlocked" memories, too. I can't see them until I close my eyes and relax a bit. Then, they flash with a vividness similar to having just experienced them.

So, this time I got memories of a fight. I was not in a human body, since I was ripping and shredding creature after creature. I have no clue what the creatures were, but I could remember the acuteness that comes when my boosted senses are sharpened even more. I feel searing pain when something grabs hold of my wing and starts tearing into it. Snapping my wings open, I whirl on the creature and rip five huge lines across its chest. Then, the sounds, scents, sights, and feel of battle fade as the memory ends.

I open my eyes and take note of the creatures standing in front of me. On my left side, where the trio had stood, are three otherworldly creatures. Each has sharp, curved claws on the tips of their fingers and medium-sized dragonish wings. They also have a reptilian tail that is about half their height. The tail isn't that thick, but it seems to be able to twitch like a feline's. They are covered with fur that has very interesting colors. One has golden fur, one has silver fur, and the last one has brown fur. Their eyes are narrowed in hatred at the creature on my right side.

On my right side, where that one guy stood, is another creature similar to the ones on my right. This one looks larger and stronger than them, but it doesn't look like it expects the fight to be easy. It has serrated claws on the tips of its nails that look like they were made for cutting. It's dragon wings are huge and a shade of red that is close to black. The fur on it is black and longer than the others' fur. Interestingly enough, this creature doesn't have a tail.

Both groups are standing bipedal, like humans, and I could feel the tenseness of both sides.

((Stay out of the way if you don't want to be killed.)) I obey and move to the safety of the forest. Instinctively, I prepare myself for a long wait as all four bow to each other and declare, "Let the battle begin!"

**Hope you guys liked that. Please R&R. I will put up the next chapter as soon as I can.**


	3. Chapter 3: Jake

**A/N: Due to a large amount of procrastination, natural laziness, and a little indecision at this next chapter, I have not actively posted. I apologize and I assure you guys that I will work harder to give you the next chapter quicker than this one. Once again, I apologize for any mistakes in my story and for any OOCness.**

**K.A. Applegate owns the Animorphs and related stuff. I own the Feylin and the plot line.**

For once, school is going pretty smoothly. No Yeerk attacks, no Erek, and I got my homework done on time. I am actually feeling pretty good as the lunch period comes around. I walk into the cafeteria and hear someone calling my name. I turn around and wave to Marco. He waves back, then turns to the boy standing beside him and starts talking. The boy is about the same height as Marco, but the boy has blue-black eyes and messy, short black hair. After he finishes, Marco comes and sits across from me at the lunch table.

He sighs and states, "It's nice when we have a Yeerk-free day."

He pauses and thinks, then exclaims, "Now I've ruined our peaceful day! Oh no! Something terrible is bound to happen now."

I sigh. "Marco, look around you. Do you see Erek coming? Is Rachel or Cassie hurrying towards us? No. So nothing's wrong."

He looks around and his expression changes from exaggerated shock to grim seriousness. He nods at the room in general and I look around. Everyone is frozen perfectly. I groan. The only time this happens is when the Ellimist or Crayak come to "talk" to us.

"Ellimist," I say wearily.

Marco shakes his head and I look at him, surprised. "I don't think so, man. Look over there." He points to the other side of the cafeteria. My eyes follow the direction of his finger and I see four people heading out to the halls. A fifth person hesitates, and then hurries to catch up.

"Marco, come on. We're following them," I state.

He replies with, "Why can't we just sit here and wait for time to start up again? This way, we won't have to run away screaming again."

I counter as I walk, "Well, if we follow them now, we'll know for sure whether or not we'll be fighting again." He sighs and follows me. Halfway down the hall, we run into Rachel and Cassie.

"What happened?" Cassie asks. "Is it the Ellimist again?"

Rachel says, "I hope it's neither. They really have to stop messing with us. We can take care of ourselves."

"No, it's not the Ellimist or Crayak," I respond. "It's actually a group of five people who attend this school. They are controlling this somehow and I want to know whether they are a threat to us or no."

Rachel growls, "They better not be."

We all head further along the hallway, with Marco and I explaining what had happened. Suddenly Tobias' voice creeps into our heads. ((Um, guys. You had better hurry to the roof. There are five people here who probably shouldn't be here.)) We exchange looks and hurry to the stairs with roof access. Quickly climbing the stairs, we nearly burst through the door and are met with a blinding flash of white light.

((Whoa. Whoa. What just happened?)) calls Tobias.

Rachel tells him, "Try to land on the roof, Tobias. It'll be easier than flying with those spots in your eyes."

Tobias replies ((Okay. Here I go.)) We hear a slight whoosh of air and a light thump, followed by an ((Ouch!)).

"Tobias. You okay, man?" I say.

((Yep. Just fine.))

As we stand there with our vision returning to normal, a weird sight met our eyes. A floating white sphere, about six feet in diameter, is hovering several feet in front of us.

((Hey! Where did those people go? They were right where the sphere is now.)) Tobias exclaims.

Marco responds, "They're probably inside the sphere, Bird-boy."

"I say we go straight in," Rachel grins.

Marco rolls his eyes and Rachel glares at him.

"We don't know what could be in that sphere or what it does. What if we get transported to another world again?" Cassie says worriedly.

"We'll go in as wolves with Tobias flying overhead. This way we can be quick and we're still ready to fight," I state. Everyone nods and starts morphing. When a pack of four wolves stood on top of the school's roof, Rachel yells ((Let's do it!))

((Now I know we'll find trouble.)) Marco sighs.

We run straight at the sphere. The wolf was edgy, being around people, but it was also relieved to see the white sphere ahead of us. I thought that was really weird, but then we were in. An expanse of white spread in every direction, even behind us, but the wolf wasn't worried. It was eager to keep moving forward and I allowed it to lead. ((Hey, do your wolves' feel eager to move forward? Or is it just mine?)) I ask.

((Now that you mention it, the wolf does seem kinda happy to be here.)) Cassie replies.

Marco says ((That's really weird. It seems more comfortable heading to this place than it does in the forest.))

((Okay)) Rachel responds ((This is really confusing.))

As soon as Rachel finished her sentence, we walk past the other end of the whiteness. The next part, however, astounds us.

((No way! This is insane! How in the world does all this fit into that tiny ball?)) Marco exclaims.

Cassie says with wonder ((This is like a sanctuary. There are all kinds of ecosystems here, but there are no animals. This place should be crawling with animals.))

We are standing on a huge hill, overlooking many parts of this place. To our right, there are mountains that seem to touch the sky. In front of us, there is a huge lake with a desert on the lake's other shore. To the left is a forest, thick and green, with treetops that are several feet below our ridge. This would be the perfect paradise, but it is missing any sign of animal life. No rustling in the trees, no songs pierce the sky. Only thick silence lies across this land.

((I'm pretty sure I know why)) Tobias replies grimly, as he lands on my back. ((Look towards the grassy field. There's a battle going on.))

Rachel says excitedly ((A battle! Where? Who's fighting in it?))

Tobias hesitates, then says slowly ((I'm not sure what the species is, but it's definitely alien. I really can't describe what they look like, so why don't we fly over there and see?))

((Okay)) I agree ((but we don't jump in the fight. We don't want to alert the inhabitants of our presence.)) Everyone demorphs and remorphs birds.

((Hey, guys)) Marco speaks up ((You don't think anyone can see through the white stuff, right?))

((No. Don't think so. Why?)) Tobias responds.

((Well, I don't want us to have accidentally morphed in front of someone.)) he explains.

Silence follows his statement. We fly together, since there are no people, and we quickly reach the battleground. We land in some trees to hide us, and we watch from there. Tobias was right. There is no way to describe these creatures, but I'll try anyway. All four have sharp, curved claws on the tips of their fingers and dragonish wings. Three of them also have a reptilian tail that is about half their height. The tail isn't too thick, and it seems to be able to twitch like a feline's. These three have fur that is golden, silver, and brown. They have medium-sized wings and their claws have smooth edges. The last one, whose fur color is black, has serrated claws and does not have a tail. Its wings are huge and the color is a dark red that looks black. It looks bigger and stronger than the other three and its fur is longer. However, all four of them have marks from the battle.

The golden one has obvious cuts around its face and wrists, with part of the left wing bleeding badly. It's breathing heavily, but it still seems to willingly fade from view to launch an attack. The silver one has more cuts around its back and wings than on the front. This one is very quick and light on its feet, so the cuts are a lot shallower than the gold one's. The brown one seems to have the most damage, though. Its left wing is bleeding freely at the tip and the skin on the right wing is torn. Four deep furrows, parallel to each other, run across its chest and two more are on 

either side of its spine. Its pointed ears, a cross between a wolf's and a cat's, are drooping slightly and one of them has a V-shaped nick in it. Regardless, this one seems the most determined, with fire popping up in its hands and hurling the fireballs at the black creature.

The black one has two cuts across its stomach and burn marks on its wings. Scratches cover its arms, legs, and back. One wing is dragging along the ground, while the other bleeds freely from its wounds. Somehow, it still seems to be able to fight fiercely. Half of its hits go to midair, but it usually results with the gold one being sent flying.

Finally, the three smaller creatures have the black one pinned down. The brown one pants, "We…have won. Now, leave…our Fourth…alone."

"You win this round, bastards, but you won't be so lucky next time," the pinned one hisses.

The gold, silver, and brown creatures warily let the black one up. Then, the silver one turns to the trees where a human is running to them.

((Hey, wait a minute,)) Marco exclaims. ((I know who that is.))

Everyone instantly snaps their eyes onto Marco. ((Well, who is it?)) Rachel says testily.

Marco starts ((It's the—))—new boy. Huh? How'd we get back here?" I look around and I notice that we are back in the cafeteria. Rachel and Cassie are just entering and they head straight for us.

"How was that for weird?" Rachel says as she sits down.

Cassie asks, "Do you guys think they're with the Yeerks?"

Marco replies, "I don't think so. Lowell only got here three days ago and he was invited to The Sharing by Chapman during passing today."

"Okay," I offer, "Rachel, you up for trailing them after school with Tobias?"

Her face lights up. "Of course."

"Oh great. Xena and Bird-boy get to coast on the thermals, while we're stuck doing homework," Marco complains.

Rachel punches his arm. "Besides, lunch is almost over, so you better hurry or you won't reach your classroom in time."

Marco sighs. "I really should go now. Maybe I can catch some of their conversation before the other three leave. See ya later, guys." He waves as leaves.

"Well, there's not much else we can do without arousing suspicion, so we better just go to class," I say. We split up and leave.

**Hope that chapter was okay. Sorry for the long wait and please review. It'll help me put the chapter up quicker.**


	4. Chapter 4: Selena

**A/N: Please review people. I'd like to know what you guys think of my story and reviews motivate me. **

**I don't own any Animorphs stuff. K.A. Applegate does.**

We get back to the cafeteria, but our trouble hasn't left yet. Adrian glares at us, then turns abruptly and leaves. I can feel Aurora and Cyrus on either side of me, tense. Only when we lose sight of Adrian do we slowly let our guard down. Whew! My suppressed elation is slowly bubbling up. I grin as the reality sinks in. We won! We beat that jerk, Adrian! And we got back just when time started up again! I look down at our Fourth and I notice that he's scrutinizing us. The flicker of recognition is just out of reach, as he focuses on the something.

Aurora, our kind-of leader, looks curiously at Lowell. "Do you know what we are?" she asks in a low voice. I refer to her as our kind-of leader because Cyrus and I see her as a leader, but she doesn't see herself as our leader.

Lowell shakes himself and answers, "You guys look familiar and I feel like I belong with your group, but I don't remember."

Cyrus, my twin and somewhat opposite, says, "Maybe you should stay with us for a few days. You might remember everything, or we could explain it to you."

"That'd be awesome!" he exclaims as his face lights up.

I put in, "You won't be staying with us yet. We'll take you to a friend's for the weekend. If you remember in three days, that would make our job a lot easier, but we could still teach you things." Of course, that's only one reason. This also allows us to check whether or not he is a Controller. You see, Yeerks have to feed every three days in the Yeerk pool, so if he stays in Erek's house for the weekend and the rest of today, we'll know he's clean.

He says excitedly, "Of course! I've been living with foster families for the last five years, so if this is all I have to do to stay with you guys, I'll do it. Besides, this family already knows about my series of runaways, so they'd probably assume that's what I did. And they're annoying." He scowls. "The mother is always nosing into my business and the father keeps asking me to join some weird thing called The Sharing." He shudders. "But for some odd reason, I feel disgusted every single time I hear that name." His face turns thoughtful. "If I remember whatever I'm supposed to remember, will you guys take me in? You'll kinda have to because I don't have anywhere else to go."

"If you remember and if you stay in the house we take you to, then we'll arrange for the friend to legally adopt you. You'll have to choose between living with them and living with us, but you can only choose one," Aurora says calmly.

"Sure. That shouldn't be too hard," he states. "Besides, I actually _want_ to live with you guys."

"And another thing. Do NOT give out any information that we give you. It will be important and dangerous, in the wrong hands," Cyrus orders.

I speak up sharply, "Stop that, Cyrus. You don't have to scare him. I think he gets the point." I look at Lowell and notice the barely concealed fear in his eyes. "I'll walk with you, if that's okay with the others," I say. Aurora nods, and then after a pause, Cyrus reluctantly nods. He relaxes slightly and replies, "Sure. I'd like that. Are we going right after school?"

"Yes," is my response.

Right then, a short, Hispanic boy walks up, smiles at me, and says, "Well, hello angel. I haven't met you before, but you've already captured my heart. What are you called, my beautiful?"

Next to me, Cyrus tenses and opens his mouth to retort, but I give him a look and he settles down.

"The name's Selena," I respond, "and before you ask, I have no intention of going out with you, Marco."

He tenses slightly and hides his shock under surprise. "How would you have come by my name without me telling you?" he asks suspiciously.

I laugh as he watches me warily. Noting the wary look, I tease, "You think I wouldn't have heard of the most flirtatious boy in this school? Especially one who can't get a date."

He relaxes and teases back. "At least you know who I am. Why is someone as pretty as you not walking with a boy, arm in arm?"

My dense brother decides to butt in right then.

"Because her brother won't let anyone get that close to her," he snarls.

Marco holds his hands up and takes a step back, with a smirk on his face. "Overprotective much? Can't let a guy tease her in a friendly way, can you? Get a sense of humor, why don't ya?"

Cy growls and prepares to spring, but I send him a thought. ((Back off, will ya? We aren't supposed to make a scene.)) He whips around and Aurora whispers something to him, before he stops.

I turn to Marco and apologize. "Hey, no problem. It's probably time I got going anyway. Come on, Lowell, unless you want to be late for class."

Lowell had watched the first part of the conversation, and then he'd closed his eyes. At Marco's words, however, he gets up and heads to one of the cafeteria's entrances. As he walks, I hear his voice in my mind. ((See you guys later.)) Then, he's through the doors. Meanwhile, Marco ambles to the door, turns around and winks at me, and then leaves.

As soon as they're gone, Cyrus says, "I don't like Marco."

Aurora immediately jumps on him. "Only because he was hitting on Sel."

"I know, Cy, loosen up. You don't need to protect me every minute of every day," I add, slightly angrily. "There's no need to jump on anyone who talks to me and isn't a friend."

He looks a little bit ashamed and embarrassed. "But I worry about you."

"There's no need to worry too much. She can take care of herself," Aurora replies. "Remember when you guys were getting my coming-of-age present."

Cyrus and I wince, remembering the events of that day. Aurora's fifth birthday had been coming up. Well, fifth in Feylin years. That would be fifty Earth years. Anyway, Cyrus and I had only been four-and-a-half when we were getting her present. Traditional coming-of-age presents were usually a companion, which was given to the birthday child from his or her group mates. Aurora had been talking about getting a wolf companion since she was about two, so we decided to give one to her. It had been about three days before her birthday and we had tracked a group of wolves for the last two days. Now, while the hunters left for food, Cyrus had overpowered the wolf that was babysitting and I had grabbed the youngest cub, whose eyes and ears hadn't even opened yet. As I turned to leave, I came face-to-face with the alpha male. This must have been the largest alpha male in the current packs. Light gray fur with yellow streaks covered his body and we stood almost eye-to-eye, when I was that age. In feet, I was only a little over three feet, standing on a slightly raised hill. He was probably about three or four feet at the shoulder with two-inch fangs. And he was just standing there with his teeth bared and growling. I froze, and we held our positions for the next few minutes. His growling had dropped until I could barely hear it, but when I suddenly spread my wings for flight, he leaped forward. Vicious snarling emanated from him as I tried to gain altitude. When I felt his breath on my feet, I twisted and lashed out with my tail and hind claws. Four gouges appeared on his face as my tail slammed into his skull. He stumbled and I was able to get the altitude I needed to get away. Cyrus joined me in the air soon after and we nodded.

Shaking myself out of the memories, I say, "Well, anyway, we had better get to class. No reason to get detention when we can go visit Erek." We split up and go to class.


End file.
